Editorial: Spring 2009 issue

Nearly ten years ago my congregation asked me to chair a task force to work on a new mission statement. At the first meeting we discovered that every task force member had access to and used email. As a result, we only had to meet three times; between meetings versions of a mission statement were circulated for everyone to respond to and amend. When we finally completed our job, we figured that email had spared us having to meet at least twice as many times. This efficiency was welcome since some of our members had to drive long distances to church in heavy urban traffic.

Not every kind of church work lends itself to the efficiency of the Internet and other modern technologies. It would simply be inappropriate to use the Internet to address sensitive personal issues typically handled by elders or deacons. The chances of confidential messages being forwarded to the wrong persons would be too great. Other matters demanding spiritual discernment are best handled when people can be prayerfully present with each other, hearing not just what is said, but how it is said.

Nevertheless, the Internet has made it possible for congregations to stay in touch with each other in a way not previously possible. My congregation sends out special prayer requests during the week. The pastors also issue a weekly message about the upcoming Sunday, letting us know what the theme and scripture texts are and asking us to prayerfully prepare for the Spirit to be present.

we must sometimes abandon the efficiencies of technology to uphold our deeply held convictions

These new possibilities also call attention to technological and economic disparities in our congregations. Some people for legitimate reasons choose not to own computers or use the Internet, and they shouldn't be dismissed as hopeless Luddites. Older people in particular are intimidated by new technology. And few families simply can't afford either a computer or internet access. There is a justice issue here that congregations must sensitively respond to.

For folks without email, older methods of communication-like phone chains-are still available. And congregations might consider making grant money available to families who can't afford a computer or holding classes for people still learning to use computers. The disparity in computer literacy is often a generational divide. Using young people to tutor older persons could help close this gap and build relational bridges between the youth and the older members of the church.

The deeper issue is how the use of computers affects the lives of individual Christians and congregations. We can't just assume these new technologies are morally neutral; whether they are a force for good or evil depends on how they are used. Recently, Newsweek asked whether processing digital information is changing the way the human brain functions. And Atlantic pondered whether the use of Google, the popular internet search tool, is making us stupid. Similarly, the church needs to ask what the use of computers and other modern technology is doing to our spirits, whether it is informing us into more faithful Christians and churches-or not.

These are simply some inappropriate uses of technology by the church. For instance, there are websites that lead individuals or families through a communion service in the comfort of their own home and at the convenience of their own schedule. This undermines the very meaning of communion. It isn't simply a reminder to us of Christ's sacrificial death, nor is it something that just happens between God and us as individuals. Communion is an experience of the risen Christ being present in his body, the gathered church. Christ can't be present with us in the breaking of the bread unless we are present together with our brothers and sisters.

That is perhaps an extreme example of the inappropriate use of technology by the church and Christians. But it illustrates that just because we have access to new technology doesn't mean we should use it in any way imaginable. Me might learn from our Amish cousins about "intentional inefficiency": we must sometimes abandon the efficiencies of technology to uphold our deeply held convictions, including the value of Spirit-filled lives lived together in Christian community.

Richard A. Kauffman